Airport Dogs Sniff Out The Strangest Creatures Living In One Man’s Luggage

[Music] for most people the airport isn't exactly a trip to disneyland but while a 30-minute delay is sure to put a damper on anyone's spirits try having a police dog in your face as an officer cuffs your hands behind your back that's exactly what happened for one canadian man as he attempted to return home after a quick trip overseas a reaction such as this might seem excessive but after seeing the unusual cargo that was discovered inside his luggage and the immense threat that it posed the officers had no choice but to act with the advanced security measures used in airports today bringing something on a plane without anyone noticing surely seems like a lost cause still even with the odds stacked against him that didn't stop ipolit but donov from trying touching down at the pearson international airport in toronto the ontario native appeared to be just another jet lag passenger relieved that his half-day flight from russia was over yet without a doubt the only thing on his mind was the stowaways in his carry-on as badonnov disembarked from the plane he could feel his heart beating in his chest but why was he so worried he'd already gotten his cargo past russian security how hard could smuggling it through one more checkpoint really be but donov had every right to be cocky but there was one thing he didn't consider as he approached the customs counter dogs the site of the border patrol canines was not a welcome one though maybe just maybe he thought they wouldn't catch the scent of what he was carrying he shuffled up to the customs agent and reached for his papers then came a bark then another and another he turned casually hoping they'd caught wind of something else then in an instant the dogs were on him the canines directed their barks at bottanov's bag and the observing border patrol agent quickly snatched it away opening the carry-on the agents were puzzled inside there was only another bag the situation only grew stranger from there as inside the second bag they found 10 more each one made of cloth and damp to the touch one whiff of the heavy perfumed pouches told the agents all they needed to know whatever was inside was not meant to be found taking the bags into the examination room the agents assumed they'd contained the standard international contraband drugs but when they finally opened the small pouches what they found inside instantly made them regret stopping botton off in the first place leeches thousands and thousands of them all alive and squirming vodanov was immediately arrested though the nature of his crime couldn't be confirmed just yet while his method of transport had certainly been suspect the agents weren't sure these leeches were illegally imported they looked to experts for the answer namely those at the royal ontario museum and the american museum of natural history using state-of-the-art technology the zoologist here could analyze the leech's stomach contents to determine what species they were and whether they were caught or bred and in no time sebastian kvist curator of invertebrate zoology at the royal ontario museum could identify the creatures as herodo verbana a kind of medicinal leech yet while several types of leeches are used for such purposes this specific breed was an endangered species for centuries herudo verbana had been harvested and used to cure all manner of ailments ranging from serious disease to male pattern baldness the earliest recorded use of medicinal leeches can be found in notes 8th century bce of indian physicians karaka and sushruta medical leeches then made their way to the western world by the second century and were quickly made popular by the greco-roman physician galen his advocacy for the bleeding of patients was well received and the practice became so commonplace that physicians were often referred to as leeches bloodletting eventually became a standard means of preventing infection and treating illness across the globe especially in places like eastern europe and the americas during the early 19th century it's believed that six million leeches were used to draw 300 000 liters of blood in paris alone though leaching has fallen out of favor with most of the developed world there are still those willing to pay a pretty penny for the slippery creature on the open market haruna verbana can sell for between six dollars and fourteen dollars a piece given the nearly five thousand leeches boden off was caught with it's likely the amateur smuggler was banking on a pretty nice payday but after violating canada's zero tolerance policy on the sale of exploited animals he quickly found his pockets much lighter boninoff was fined fifteen thousand dollars for his crime a quarter of what he could have sold his leeches for a top dollar he was also banned from importing and exporting for a year as well as possessing animals that are protected by the convention on international trade and endangered species of wild fauna and flora but had bonanov succeeded in bringing leeches into the country their presence likely would have been felt by more than just those whose blood they were cleansing because leeches are an invasive species their effect on the environment can be catastrophic a common practice among those who leech illegally is disposing of them in a nearby body of water disrupting the natural balance of the ecosystem in fact a number of european leech species have already popped up in canadian lakes as a result of this dumping thankfully quick action on the part of the pearson border patrol agents prevented thousands of these creatures from inevitably winding up in canada's waterways still animal trafficking remains a major problem in north america texas rio grande border for instance is no stranger to smugglers and over the years border agents have seen their fair share of strange cargo but in august 2018 folks attempted to bring one particular unusual item across the river undetected while out on patrol two agents from brownsville texas spotted three individuals lingering on the mexican side of the river the trio tried to look inconspicuous but the sharp eyed agents saw right through their charade the officers approached and as they did the trio knew they'd been made caught red-handed trying to cross the border the individuals high-tailed it back to mexico leaving their possessions behind it was a typical find for a border agent water jugs shoes and a few hastily packed bags but there was one piece of luggage that the officers found themselves returning to again and again a black duffle unable to shake their suspicions the agents unzipped the bag and tossed the flap open one beak inside told them everything they needed to know about the attempted border crossing it wasn't a bid for a new start it was a smuggling and what was it that was being smuggled well none other than a tiger cub likely just a few months old the animal lay unconscious in the duffel but fortunately it was alive without a moment to lose the agents grabbed the young tiger and carried him they then made a beeline for the nearest town hoping they weren't too late to save the helpless cub feeling that a veterinary hospital wouldn't be equipped to care for such an animal the officers took the cub to brownsville's gladys porter zoo hopefully they figured the wildlife specialist there could nurse the baby tiger back to health the cub was out cold when the zoo's medical team finally got him onto the exam table and they feared that these smugglers might have drugged the animal to sedate him for the trip luckily they could stabilize him and the little guy soon came too not long after word of the cubs discovery got out border patrol communications director irma champa reported the tiger was doing great and was expected to make a full recovery once healed the cub would be placed in a zoo but the attempted smuggling of tiger cubs like this one is something that the us unfortunately has become quite familiar with all along the country's southern border exotic animal trafficking has become an epidemic over the last few decades the illegal wildlife trade is pretty big business says dan crum a u.s fish and wildlife agent the u.s is sometimes a destination in transit point and the border along california and mexico happens to be one of those flash points for trafficking in fact more than a quarter of the nearly 50 000 black market animal shipments seized at the u.s points of entry between 2005 and 2014 came from latin america most of these shipments were comprised of birds and reptiles but big cats like lions and tigers were also discovered amazingly the brownsville recovery marked the first time in over 20 years that a live tiger had been discovered at this area of the border because tigers are relatively large they're much more difficult to smuggle and worth that much more money to the buyer it's also for this reason that tigers are smuggled primarily as cubs many wildlife experts believe that once a baby tiger has grown past a certain point smugglers will simply dispose of them rather than bring them to the market by 16 weeks cubs are too big they're crawling and scratching and biting says carol baskin founder of the florida sanctuary big cat rescue but there's no longer legitimate secondary market for all those cubs that can't be used any longer the fear is especially prominent in asia where large numbers of adult tigers are killed every year to satisfy the demands for their teeth bones and other parts a highly illegal practice these killings are primarily responsible for the asian tigers population significant drop to just 3 500. surprisingly the us currently boasts the world's largest tiger population at around 5 000 according to the world wildlife fund however the vast majority of these animals are born in captivity not smuggled into the country but for every handful of tigers and zoos and sanctuaries there are plenty of big cats being kept in unsavory conditions by private owners some are even showcased in cruel roadside attractions where tourists can pay to cuddle and take pictures with them thankfully measures have been taken across the country to put an end to the exploitation of animals following a 2017 sting dubbed operation jungle book 200 animals were rescued from this kind of abuse including lizards songbirds and even a king cobra yet while countries around the world are making a conscious effort to stop the trafficking of exotic animals a large number still slips through the cracks even in big cities like paris exotic creatures can sometimes go undetected for months even years at a time for instance in late 2017 videos and images surfaced online of a 24 year old man abusing a wild animal he was keeping as a pet in response a number of activists contacted law enforcement to see if this man and his pet could be located an investigation soon began with authorities using the man's post to pinpoint his location after weeks of searching they tracked the man to an apartment in the french suburb of noisy lasak when firefighters arrived on the scene they found the apartment deserted however when they further explored they discovered a heartbreaking sight in the back room there huddled in a corner of a small cage was a tiny lion cub judging by his size this big cat was no older than one year but the saddest part of it all was the poor shape they found him in the cub was severely emaciated and the many cuts and bruises on his body confirmed the reports that the little guy had been severely abused not too long after the bust police officers managed to find and arrest the cub's owner who had bought the animals simply to show it off online but with the cubs abuser behind bars what was next for the little lion after hearing the cubs story the animal rescue organization's foundation 30 million ami and refuge de la arche decided to take them into their care with their help the little lion was transferred to nature help centrum in belgium a rescue center known for rescuing and rehabilitating big cats as the cub began to acclimate to this new environment animal rescuers gave him a strong name to fit his story of strength king and boy did he grow to fit his name but as king began to outgrow his surroundings it became time to seek out a permanent home for the young lion and so the animal welfare organization born free started a campaign to move king to his ancestral home africa according to born free their plan was to move king to their big cat rescue center at the chamois private game reserve in the eastern cape of south africa here king could frolick and play alongside other lions and lionesses that had been rescued once they'd raised enough money to fund their mission born free placed the now fully grown king in a cage ten times the size of the one he was first found in it would be the last cage he'd ever be put in on july 5th 2018 king took his first ever plane ride to the london heathrow airport under the care of born freeze expert team poor king was so nervous during the flight after transferring onto another flight which is no easy task for a human let alone a thousand pound lion king was finally on his way to his homeland one short plane ride later and king had arrived in port elizabeth south africa the final leg of the trip was completed by truck with king's large cage being pulled behind it though the plane rides had put a strain on poor king it would all be worth it in just a few hours finally after traveling a total of six thousand miles from belgium to africa king arrived at his new home at the shamwari reserve the board-free team was nervous at first about how king would react to his new surroundings as king stepped out into the winter sunlight the young lion began to playfully leap through the grass it was the first time he'd ever seen grass before let alone touched it before king could continue exploring he caught sight of his new playmates jorah and black who were rescued from cruelty at the hands of a circus they greeted king with a roar that left everyone with goosebumps officially welcomed into his kingdom king took off into the brush to join his fellow lions after a day of play exploration and a meal fit for well a king of course king took to the shade for a well-deserved long overdue rest king remains at the chamois reserve to this day living in peace and freedom just as all animals should be allowed to so you